


Day Twenty-Three: "Don't Look"

by OBlossom



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [23]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: FebuWhump2021, Grief/Mourning, Gun Violence, Hurt/Comfort, IronDad and SpiderSon, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:15:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29666436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OBlossom/pseuds/OBlossom
Summary: The kid had been right, not that Tony would ever admit it. The sandwiches at Delmar’s Deli & Grocery were some of the best Tony had ever eaten in his life which was why it had taken no effort on Peter’s part to convince him that they needed to make a pit stop.So they did.It was supposed to be a quick toss on of a hoodie and baseball cap, run in and grab something to go. It was a ‘science bro’ night so no hero-gear was allowed. It was just two men and their meat. Tony was pretty sure that Mr. Delmar had already memorized his order, alongside Peter’s—he was just that good.But no, there they were, Tony and Peter sitting cross-legged on the floor beside a Flamin’ Cheeto display with a twitchy gang-banger standing over them with a sawed off shot gun pointed anywhere but at them.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138958
Comments: 8
Kudos: 92
Collections: febuwhump 2021





	Day Twenty-Three: "Don't Look"

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently, I can manage gut-wrenching... I think?
> 
> Enjoy
> 
> -Colleen xo

Day 23: “don’t look”

The kid had been right, not that Tony would ever admit it. The sandwiches at Delmar’s Deli & Grocery were some of the best Tony had ever eaten in his life which was why it had taken no effort on Peter’s part to convince him that they needed to make a pit stop.

So they did.

It was supposed to be a quick toss on of a hoodie and baseball cap, run in and grab something to go. It was a ‘science bro’ night so no hero-gear was allowed. It was just two men and their meat. Tony was pretty sure that Mr. Delmar had already memorized his order, alongside Peter’s—he was just that good.

But no, there they were, Tony and Peter sitting cross-legged on the floor beside a Flamin’ Cheeto display with a twitchy gang-banger standing over them with a sawed off shot gone pointed anywhere but at them. Tony assumed the twitch was because he was coming down off of something, which never played well in high stress situations and both he and Peter knew it. With a look, they’d both decided to play it cool, let them do their thing and just get everyone out of there safe.

“Hey, man! Hurry up!” their guard blurted out. “Someone else is gonna come in!” He waved the gun in their general direction. “These two were already bad enough!”

His partner in crime was up at the register with poor Mr. Delmar. 

Peter had already told him stories about all of the robberies he’d dealt with through the years—and that if Mr. Delmar (and I quote, Mr. Stark!) “has to deal with one more junky waving a gun in my face, I’m taking it as a sign. I’m locking the doors and moving to the Caribbean with the cat and the wife.” Peter had been sure to quote him exactly, laughing at how Murphy came before Mrs. Delmar. 

And Tony had wondered if he could just have him come live in the tower and be his 24-hour, on call sandwich maker. 

Right now though, Tony was just glad that it meant he knew how to handle this insanity.

Tony could hear Mr. Delmar muttering under his breath while banging on the register, and suddenly understood the delay. “Just take the whole machine and bust it open later!” He called out. 

Peter grabbed his arm to hush him, while the gang-banger gave him a swift, painful kick to the side. “Dude, you’d better shut the hell up or you’re dead, got it?” He quirked an eyebrow down at Tony and looked more lucid than he had in the previous three minutes. 

Tony gave a quick nod. “Got it.”

Yes, that had been a stupid thing to do but honestly, as robberies went, this one shouldn’t have taken nearly this long! And being low key was really starting to suck.

The grind of the ancient cash drawer sliding open sounded through the store and both Tony and Peter heaved a sigh of relief while their guard walked to the end of the aisle to check out progress.

A rush of, “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon’s” came from the other man as they could hear the rustling of bills being tossed into a paper bag. 

It was almost over.

“Hey, man, check out front and see if the car is there!” He called to their guy.

He moved toward the door with a “yeah, alright,” and was looking outside for their apparent #3.

And that was when it all went to hell.

A wailing shriek of pain and then a hiss came from wherever one of the robbers was... it was just so loud. 

Mr. Delmar shouted out, “Murph!” 

A gunshot fired.

\--And then there was nothing.

Peter and Tony stared wildly at each other, both frozen by disbelief.

“What the hell just happened?” Tony whispered to the teen.

Before Peter could answer, a muttered ‘oh, shit.’ and the shuffling of footsteps, first loud and then quieter sounded through the store to the backroom and then out of the store all together. The door leading to the alleyway banged open and then slammed shut.

A beat passed, and then Tony slowly stood. “Stay here, Pete. I’m gonna check things out quick. Okay?”

Peter nodded. “Okay.”

Bent low to the ground, Tony made his way to the back of the store. He looked to the left and right, scanned anywhere his eyes could see... and wished like mad that he’d had his suit with him.

The deli counter was the next place to clear. Tony was crossing the open customer waiting area to check behind the counter proper when a loud *meow* came from back by Peter.

“Mr. Stark! Murphy’s okay!” Something about seeing the cat whole and healthy must’ve short circuited Peter’s common sense. “C’mere, Murph—let’s go take you to Papa, huh? He was worried about you!” There was a little commotion, Tony could only guess that the cat did not want to be picked up, but that didn’t stop Peter. He came out from their aisle, clutching the cat to his chest. “Look, Mr. Stark!”

“Pete!” Tony hissed at him as he moved to check behind the counter, “Don’t be a dumbass! Get back where you’re covered!” He shifted his focus from his charge to the task at hand and—“Oh, no.”

Mr. Delmar.

He must have missed something that Peter had said because the boy was rushing up to the counter, and Tony couldn’t let him see...

Poor, kind Mr. Delmar.

“Peter, stop.” Tony stepped out and intercepted Peter. “You can’t go back there.

Confused, Peter simply lifted the cat again, “But I have Murphy?” 

Except that in that second, the cat had decided he’d had enough and, with a vicious swipe at Peter’s arm, Murphy was on the floor and rushing off behind the counter to hide in the backroom among the shelves and stock.

“Murphy!” The boy called out. “Come back here!” And Peter stepped away from Tony, his eyes sliding to the floor to track the... 

“NO!” Tony planted himself in front of the boy again. “Pete, leave the damned cat alone and stay still!”

Tony very seldom raised his voice to Peter so this caught his attention.

“Peter,” Tony lowered his voice. “Please. Don’t worry about the cat.”

This was the moment when...

“Mr. Delmar?” Peter squeaked out. 

Tony could only shake his head.

“Uh, yeah, no. That’s not right.” Peter stated simply and tried to pass Tony. “Mr. Delmar?!” Peter got louder, like maybe the man was in the backroom, hiding away with that fucking cat. “Mr. Delmar!!” He gave a gentle push at Tony’s arm, tried to side step, and finally tried to catch a glimpse of whatever Tony was hiding from him. “Mr. Stark, please? ... Mr. Delmar might...”

Tony put the boy in a bear hug, “Peter, please—don’t look. I can’t let you...” Tony choked up as he held the boy.

And finally—too late, sirens echoed from up the street.

**Author's Note:**

> Feeling sort of like a monster for that... Yikes!
> 
> Day twenty-three. done.


End file.
